Durlabh Singh
"Open Window"
Oil on Canvas
24" x 36"
I am pleased to able to showcase an oil painting created by one of our readers, Durlabh Singh. It is oil on canvas, entitled “Open Window” and measuring 24” x 36”.
Singh’s painting at first glance shows a definite influence by two movements in art history, Cubism and Impressionism. In particular, I see the influences of Paul Cezanne, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso.
It is Singh’s approach to space within the painting that resembles the concepts of Picasso. There seems to be a sense of simultaneity as if the artist is attempting to express the presence of the objects within the space without confining the objects to a two-dimensional point of view. As Singh mentions when writing about the work, artists “envisage (the) world in three dimensions but the surface of painting is two-dimensional and (the) problem is as how to represent three-dimensional sensations into two”. Instead, the artist allows form to dictate a more accessible portrayal of the space, and notes that “In Buddhist terminology the form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form”. As a result, the lines of the piece create many diagonals, angles and patterns in order to help us experience the magic of the objects, no matter how ordinary, with a more open spacial quality.
The application of color and the arrangement of the composition are reminiscent of Cézanne’s still-lives. Although the objects within the painting are void of expression, particularly the bust, the careful placement of the objects in the picture plane and their relationship with each other does create some emotion. Like Matisse, the play between the shapes of the color fields and line creates a visually harmonious composition. This harmony, paired with the Picasso approach to space, allows for an almost ethereal feeling to the piece. Fortunately, I happen to know this is the artist’s goal with this piece, as Singh has stated that the paintings are meant to be “something vaster, deeper of human sensibilities, which goes beyond the normal world of average reality.”
Thank you Singh for allowing us to take a look at your fabulous painting. You indeed invoke a great transcendence through your use of color, line and spacial arrangement.
I would like to encourage all the readers to have their paintings showcased here at Oil Painting. Please see the bulletin on the Oil Painting front page for details.
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